Study reveals how much money you need to retire in Thailand

[FritsSikkink]

4 hours ago, sirineou said:

What does  $389,835 Mean ?

Is that to retire for the rest of your life?  at what age?  and  how many years would that last you. ?

 

Read the OP and you know

[treetops]

3 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

Read the OP and you know

 

Read the rest of the thread and you'd know he knows.

[Albert Zweistein]

4 hours ago, bolt said:

At first it may seem high, but its a reasonable amount for 14 years, it works out approx. 70K Thb per month

but 14 years seem a bit short for me.

You HOPE it's a bit short for you.

[ChaiyaTH]

5 hours ago, bigupandchill said:

So I can retire to a proper country (Portugal) for only 40k more than here?

I'd actually think it is would be less as you could also get 50% mortgage on a house costing just a few M baht. Unlike in TH gives some additional chances to lower living costs (over time) aside it being nice to be able to just own land and a house hassle free.

 

Could get a townhouse in a Spanish village on the pier to Ibiza for like 3M baht with 4 bedrooms and 50% on mortgage with super low fixed interest. Similar thing here they dare to ask 8-10M baht.

[RichardColeman]

Think a more important question is 'what do you do when and if it runs out'.

 

 

[ChaiyaTH]

Just now, RichardColeman said:

Think a more important question is 'what do you do when and if it runs out'.

You do not run out of money. No money, no honey. It would be the beginning of the end, easy as that.

[dcnx]

5 hours ago, bigupandchill said:

So I can retire to a proper country (Portugal) for only 40k more than here?

Yes. 

[dcnx]

20 minutes ago, RichardColeman said:

Think a more important question is 'what do you do when and if it runs out'.

 

 

There will always be a balcony in Pattaya with your name on it.

[asiasurfer]

5 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

So if all one happens to have a lifetime Pension that pays a tidy sum  monthly and has nothing in savings then they are not able to retire in Thailand, or other countries, is that the gist of the article?  Or lets see, only having a savings of 1 million USD, but no pension, then they can afford to retire in Thailand as well as elsewhere?  So confused.  Everyone's life style is different and what one wants to buy and eat for their meals, and just like where they choose to live differs, Each individual should learn to live within their means.  I know a few who live in Thailand on just their SS from the US and they are happy as can be.  I also know a few who can afford to live the hi-life and do so but are not happy because they do not have enough in their view.  We all made our beds a long time ago and you either enjoy what you have or you don't, no use crying over spilled milk.

So basically you are saying that you're poor...? ????

[Lacessit]

2 hours ago, ChaiyaTH said:

 

This aside we all forget to consider inflation, in 15 years you need 75K to have the same as 50K today. Thailand did not get that much more expensive, our money is just getting worthless on high speed due to printing of central banks.

I am paying less in rent now in Thailand than I was ten years ago when I first got here. Fruit and vegetables are seasonal, I can't say I have seen an increased cost over those years. Costs of items such as car registration, insurance and electricity don't seem to have changed either.

I guess the pandemic has also brought about a downward pressure on prices, ask any hotel owner.

[Don Chance]

Let's say you have no pension and you might live to 100 years old.

 If you are 50 now and live on 10k per year. In 20 years you will probably need 20k per year. in 30 years 30k.

If you have 200k and invest and get 10-20% per year you will be alright. If you leave it in a saving account for 1.5% you will be screwed.

[MyFriend You]

6 hours ago, Airalee said:

Yes...it’s bound to bring out the “I have more money than you” crowd.

Yep, got my popcorn and a drink in hand

[ukrules]

Sounds to me like they're working out the new minimum deposit requirements for retirement visas.

 

I guess it would be based on age, the younger you are, the more you need - simply extrapolate the numbers up up and up then make the deposit into your interest free account and you 're all set!

 

[smedly]

8 hours ago, sirineou said:

What does  $389,835 Mean

well if you are 65 and have a pension of XX per year and live 14 years then it is pretty much accurate I suppose - lets go by the requirements for a 12 month extension 65k baht a month or 800kbaht a year - not hard to work out obviously depending on currency fluctuations etc 

 

Currently 800k baht a year is about 20k sterling and about 25k US x 14 is in the ball park figure of $350k or £300k, that is pretty much what Thai Immigration want to see

 

The OP talks about savings which is somewhat misleading - I have already been here 16 years on a pension and I am still under 60  so my income will be much higher over a longer period of time.

[alyx]

5 hours ago, ChaiyaTH said:

That is some very messed up math and retirement planning from the very beginning as it is all based on drawing from a 11M fund that doesn't gain anything.

 

This while it should be gaining at least 7% a year thus it would be realizing 65K baht a month in returns alone, even in case it is just 4-5% a year, it is still 50K up. People underestimate the power of compounded interest so much, that is why they retire way too late too (pension fund managers thank you from the bahamas as well uncle sam, they make 15% a year for the past 2 decades on your cash).

 

This aside we all forget to consider inflation, in 15 years you need 75K to have the same as 50K today. Thailand did not get that much more expensive, our money is just getting worthless on high speed due to printing of central banks.

Interesting reply but you might have considered reading the post I was answering and my reply...it might have helped assessing my answer as a joke ...:)

[PatOngo]

  

 

 

[Crusader]

Ha, ha, ha, must be based on the fact that retirees stay home all day and do not have much of a life.

It's not as cheap here as it used to be, but wifey and I still average about 2 million a year...and that's not going over the top - just enjoying ourselves. 

[BritManToo]

3 hours ago, Don Chance said:

Let's say you have no pension and you might live to 100 years old.

 If you are 50 now and live on 10k per year. In 20 years you will probably need 20k per year. in 30 years 30k.

If you have 200k and invest and get 10-20% per year you will be alright. If you leave it in a saving account for 1.5% you will be screwed.

Alternative view,

When I came here alone age 50, I lived on 60k/month ......

At age 60, the 4 of us live on 40k/month ........

In the future age 70, when the kids pay it back, I'm expecting to live on 20k/month ........

 

PS, my Thai savings account pays 1.2%, my UK savings account pays 0.8%.

[madmitch]

They've forgotten to mention the substantial extra cost if you have a Thai partner to support!

[Crusader]

I think there is a B I G difference between living and just scraping by (how the hell can anyone live on 40K a month?)

[overherebc]

10 hours ago, moe666 said:

It is just a low ball estimate of a person living a medium expense stay in Thailand. it is not ment to explain every expense one might have. owning a bike or a car will increase your expense for insurance, repairs, registration. It is a ball park figure you need to add your extras or subtract your savings.

Dont take this or life seriously. It's all too late for that. Wont be that long before we're underwater or dying for lack of water. Global warming/mass migration/another round of superbug.

We're doomed Captain Mannering we're doomed.

[Dukeleto]

$390,000 and that’s before you get yourself a Thai girlfriend...that will be gone in a year if you fall in “love”. I’m off to Bermuda...it’s cheaper!

[Henryford]

One coffee a week, wow a wild lifestyle.

[ThailandRyan]

8 minutes ago, Crusader said:

I think there is a B I G difference between living and just scraping by (how the hell can anyone live on 40K a month?)

Easy, when you own everything already such as your home and vehicles and only have your living expenses.  You still have enough for traveling around the country as well.  Some people are just comfortable living within their means and possibly still saving. 

[overherebc]

18 minutes ago, Henryford said:

One coffee a week, wow a wild lifestyle.

It's all relative. ????

Let's call this 'one beer a day' 

????

[Crash999]

11 hours ago, bolt said:

At first it may seem high, but its a reasonable amount for 14 years, it works out approx. 70K Thb per month

but 14 years seem a bit short for me.

Yeah it’s a bit dangerous to assume one is only going to live 14 more years and spend accordingly. 
 

If investing in equities one could expect 30k a month relatively safely indefinitely. Not exactly flush but if single and living moderately that’s certainly doable. 

[chaihot]

12 hours ago, bigupandchill said:

So I can retire to a proper country (Portugal) for only 40k more than here?

 

What I found strange is Philippines was only a few thousand less than Thailand.  I would not have guessed that.

[crazykopite]

I have a very comfortable life here on 40,000 per month I have no rent to pay and no debts and my 800 k in the bank is back up for emergencies if ever needed I have lived here since 2006 which is more than 14 years and came on a retirement visa I go for my coffee most days after my gym workout own both a car and a Honda phantom and eat out on a regular basis plus enjoy the odd massage yes I’m an occasional drinker if in the right company and do not smoke I know plenty who have less income than me but seem to manage one thing I have never understood is why a foreigner married to a Thai only has to have 400k in the bank or a monthly income of 40,000 yet a person living on there own or married to another foreigner has to have 800 k in the bank or an income of 65 k per month and in all the years of asking nobody has been able to answer that question . If,I take a Thai lady out all she wants to do is spend spend and spend

[PGSan]

12 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

in America (64) and the average life expectancy (78.7)

This ‘life-expectancy’.  Is that also in the USA?  Is it ‘at birth’ or ‘at 64’?

 

PS: a mere 14 years post-retirement is an incredibly short time!

[MikeyIdea]

70,000 baht per month? I don't know how to spend that much money per month even in Bangkok.